


Comfort

by Destinyawakened, MJLS



Series: Subtle Moments [3]
Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2014-04-09
Packaged: 2018-01-18 18:51:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1439086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destinyawakened/pseuds/Destinyawakened, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MJLS/pseuds/MJLS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony has a panic attack. Where is Bruce?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort

Silence enveloped him as he fell through the dark void.

Tony woke up in cold sweat, gasping for air and his eyes frantically look around the room. His hands flew across the covers in search for something – no someone. Bruce. He wasn’t in the room. He wasn’t around and Tony panicked. Did Bruce get hurt during the attack as well? No, Bruce was fine. Bruce had been in Gotham at the time. He didn’t get hurt. Bruce was fine. He simply had to be. 

Where was Bruce? His mind was racing and Bruce was the only thing on his mind right then. He never managed to say goodbye, he called Pepper -- of all people -- he called Pepper. Not Bruce, not his partner and lover, but his personal assistant. He was going to die and didn’t even bother to call the one man he truly cared about.

The bedroom in the mansion is cold and empty; his clothes are thrown all over the place while Bruce’s suit is nicely folded on the nearest chair. Tony tried to calm down his breath but the covers were sticking to his body and he felt trapped. Like he was falling all over again and Bruce wasn’t there. 

Tony wanted to ask Jarvis about Bruce’s whereabouts but he couldn’t get his voice to work. His throat closed up, he let out a small whimper and buried his face in his hands. He felt so weak and pathetic. He swung his legs off the side of the bed and let out a deep breath. It didn’t help, but at least he tried. Bruce, he needed Bruce. 

Where was Bruce?

Tony’s breath quickened again and he placed his hand on the arc reactor in the hopes that that would call him down but no luck. The metal was cold to his touch, the rest of his bare chest warm and sweaty. His mind raced, one word over and over again. Bruce, Bruce, Bruce. Where was he? Was he ok? Did the Chitauri get to him? Did Loki hurt him? 

Tony stumbled across the room to the bathroom. Perhaps some cold water over his face would do him good. He nearly fell over his own two feet but managed to hold himself up with the door frame. His legs felt like giving up from under him and his breath kept hitching. He needed to snap out of it. It was just a panic attack, he told himself, but it felt so much worse than that. It felt like he was back in his suit, locked up and falling through the darkness with no one by his side. No one to help him, no one to save him. 

“Bruce,” Tony croaked out, he couldn’t even manage to get to the sink. He sunk down and sat down on the cold tiles of the bathroom. His head lolled against the wall. A few single tears fell down his cheeks but he refused to give in further to the panic attack. His hair was wet from the sweat and his heart was racing.

Where was Bruce? 

Bruce sat at the computer Tony had helped him build for the batcave. It was cased in mostly glass and across the water. If anyone were to come looking, they’d never find it since it was usually hidden beneath the surface. He didn’t actually go out as Batman anymore, but he kept up with the city’s criminal activity, feeding information to Gordon where he could, and being an informant to the rest, under the guise of The Insider.

No one had made the connection yet, and Gordon wasn’t about to tell them otherwise. Batman was still wanted, after all, for murder.

Currently, Bruce was sending off some information regarding some underground activity to Jim Gordon, when his screen lit up with a message from JARVIS.

“Sir, it seems that Mister Stark is currently experiencing a panic attack. I suggest you check up on him.”

Since New York, Tony seemed to have a lot of trouble sleeping, and a lot of trouble in general, which Bruce could understand, better than most. He shut the system down quickly, and walked across the path back to the stairs that lead up to the manor.

Once in, Bruce headed toward the master bedroom, taking the steps a few at time. “Tony?”

“Bruce?” Tony whispered, he lifted his head up from the cold bathroom floor and blinked, “Bruce?”

Slowly, Tony sat up from the floor. His eyes were small and the creases of the floor tiles were imprinted on his left cheek. He looked like he hadn’t slept properly in days. 

“Right here,” Bruce said, walking swiftly into the bathroom where Tony was crumpled up on the floor, looking worse for wear. The brunet got down on his knees and all but scooped the other man up into his arms. “It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you. I should’ve called you,” Tony whispered, his voice broken by emotions, “I was prepared to die but not to say goodbye to you.”

Bruce sighed, holding onto Tony a little tighter, being the rock that he clearly needed right now, and didn’t let himself get too emotionally involved in Tony’s attack. That wouldn’t do either of them any good.

“It’s okay. We’re passed that now, remember? It’s okay.”

Tony took a deep breath and rested his head on Bruce’s shoulder, “I woke up and you weren’t there, I thought…” his breath hitched, “I thought you left me. I...I thought you were gone.”

Tony’s fingers grasped the hem of Bruce’s shirt as he buried his face in the crook of Bruce’s neck. Bruce’s hands were softly rubbing his back to calm him down.

“That wouldn’t happen,” Bruce said, calmly, whispering it into Tony’s ear. It would take a lot more for Bruce to leave forever, he’d get mad sometimes, but he never abandoned the ones he loved most.

Tony sat back and stared at Bruce’s face, his eyes slightly teary. Slowly, he cupped Bruce’s face and pulled him closer to their foreheads were touching, “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Bruce sighed and let their heads rest together, just breathing with Tony, calming him slowly. “It’s okay. I promise, it is. We’re okay. I’m not going anywhere, I was just down in the cave.”

Tony evened out his breaths and calmed down, taking in the comforting touches of Bruce.His calloused hands rubbing over the bruises on Tony’s back. They were fading but the memory of them was still there. 

Kissing Tony on the mouth, softly at first, Bruce held him a little closer and looked at him up close. “C’mon, back to bed, I’ll help you forget about all of this.”

“I can do that,” Tony whispered, pulling Bruce into another kiss with a small smirk, “I can definitely do that.”


End file.
